Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Beynon, Chicken, Seymour, and P Soderquest.

Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on Wednesday 15 June 2022, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair. 

The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on Wednesday 15 June 2022, as circulated be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair with the amendment that Councillor Cessford was in attendance.

To receive for information the following Minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Subcommittees: 

21 July 2022 

5 October 2022

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Subcommittees held on 21 July and 5 October respectively, be received for information.

(1)           Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy – Fire Extinguishers and First Aid Kits? 

To update Members and seek approval for consultation in respect of the removal of the requirements for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles to carry fire extinguishers and first aid kits.? 

(2)           Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Fees 

To provide information to committee in relation to hackney carriage and private hire licensing fees. 

(3)           Street Trading Policy

To update Members and seek approval for consultation in respect of the Council’s Street Trading Policy. 

10.1    Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy – Fire Extinguishers and First Aid Kits

Members agreement was sought for the consultation in respect of the removal of the requirements for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles to carry fire extinguishers and first aid kits.

The current policy stipulated that standard conditions were attached to all licensed vehicles to contain fire extinguishers and first aid facilities.  Although the conditions required the licence holder to ensure the equipment was within the vehicle, there had never been any requirement for them to be used or training undertaken.  Northumberland was one of the only local authorities in the area to continue to stipulate those conditions.

Any changes to the policy would be subject to consultation which was proposed to commence on 1 November 2022 for 12 weeks.

(Councillor Foster joined the meeting at 1.35 pm).

Discussion took place on the implications of the removal of the equipment.  Members were advised that the requirements were not compulsory and it was reiterated that any changes to the policy would be subject to the consultation.

Councillor Parry proposed the recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor Wallace.

When put to the vote, 7 members voted in favour of the proposal and 1 member voted against.

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted and consultation  commence with the relevant bodies and stakeholders in respect of removing conditions that hackney carriage and private hire vehicles must carry fire extinguishers and first aid kits.

10.2    Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Fees

Members were provided with information in relation to hackney carriage and private hire licensing fees.

The current fees were listed on page 18 of the report.  A table showing the current fees and the current cost of administering licences was circulated to the committee.

Members were informed that the Council could recover the cost of the granting of hackney carriage or private hire licences, a fee it considered reasonable with a view to recovering the cost of issue and administration of licences. 

Licence fees had last been amended in 2018.

For private hire and hackney carriage vehicles and private hire operators, the Local Government (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act required that if the Council resolved to amend fees, they shall be published in at least one local newspaper, setting out the fees proposed and specifying the period, within which objections could be made.  The period of notice should be at least 28 days.  If after 28 days of the notice, no objections have been received, the new fees would normally come into force the day after the close of representations.  Where representations were received, the authority must make arrangements to consider the comments and make a final determination and agree a date of implementation.

It was envisaged that should the committee wish to amend the fees; this would be considered by the committee in December.

In response to comments/questions from members, the following information was given:-

There was no time scale for the review of fees, there had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The next meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee is scheduled for Tuesday 20 December 2022.

RESOLVED that the next meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory on Tuesday 20 December 2022, be noted.